First Cousins: King George II of Great Britain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

King George II of Great Britain (1683 – 1759)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

King George II was born at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, now in Germany on November 10, 1683. He was the elder of the two children of first cousins Georg Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I of Great Britain), and Sophia Dorothea of Celle. George II’s paternal grandparents were Ernst August, Elector of Hanover and Princess Sophia of the Palatinate who is more commonly known as Sophia, Electress of Hanover. His maternal grandparents were Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his mistress Éléonore d’Esmier d’Olbreuse who later married morganatically.

George II’s parents both committed adultery and their marriage was dissolved when George was eleven-years-old. His mother was considered the guilty party and was confined in the Castle of Ahlden in Celle, now in Germany, for the rest of her life, 32 years. George and his sister Sophia Dorothea never saw their mother again. George II married Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, usually known as Caroline of Ansbach, and the couple had eight children.

At the time of George II’s birth, the House of Stuart occupied the British throne but the Stuarts failed to produce a legitimate Protestant heir. George II’s grandmother Sophia, Electress of Hanover was the closest Protestant heir and was named the heiress presumptive to the British throne. Sophia’s mother was Elizabeth Stuart, the second child and eldest daughter of James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, and Ireland. However, Sophia of Hanover died two months before Queen Anne of Great Britain died and George I’s father succeeded to the British throne as King George I upon the death of Queen Anne. George II followed his father on the British throne, however, his eldest son and heir Frederick, Prince of Wales predeceased him. Frederick’s eldest son became the heir apparent and succeeded his grandfather as King George III.

King George II shared his two first cousins with his only sibling Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Queen of Prussia. He had no maternal aunts, maternal uncles, or maternal first cousins because Sophia Dorothea of Celle, King George II’s mother, was an only child.

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Paternal Aunts and Uncles of King George II: Children of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover and Princess Sophia of the Palatinate

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Children of Sophia Charlotte of Hanover and Friedrich I, King in Prussia

Prince Friedrich August of Prussia (1685 – 1686), died in childhood

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Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia (1688 – 1740)

King Friedrich Wilhelm I was known as the “Soldier King” and did much to improve Prussia economically and militarily. He married his first cousin Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, George II’s sister, and the couple had seven sons and seven daughters including King Friedrich II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Queen of Sweden who married King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia whose son succeeded the childless King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) as King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia.

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Works Cited

  • Lundy, D. (2019). Main Page. [online] Thepeerage.com. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/. (for genealogy information)
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2019). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com. (for biographical and genealogy information)
  • Wikipedia. (2019). Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/.  (for biographical and genealogy information)